Steven Brownson, a middle school teacher for 20 years, is looking to open a bilingual charter school in the Fall of 2012 in the Tustin area. The proposal was denied by the Tustin Unified School District Board of Education on Monday, Oct. 24.

Jessica Esquivel, left, plans to be a kindergarten teacher in the bilingual charter school Steven Brownson is looking to open in the Fall of 2012 in the Tustin area. Brownson, center right, with his wife Marjorie and daughter Leah. The proposal was denied by the Tustin Unified School District Board of Education on Monday, Oct. 24.

Steven Brownson, a middle school teacher for 20 years, is looking to open a bilingual charter school in the Fall of 2012 in the Tustin area. The proposal was denied by the Tustin Unified School District Board of Education on Monday, Oct. 24.

Jessica Esquivel plans to teach kindergarten in the bilingual charter school Steven Brownson is looking to open in the Fall of 2012 in the Tustin area. The proposal was denied by the Tustin Unified School District Board of Education on Monday, Oct. 24.

Brownson, 44, of Ladera Ranch, said he worked on the petition for eight months and spent more than $6,000 preparing to present the plan to the school board.

Brownson said he knew the board would deny the petition when he saw the staff recommendation.

“They didn’t give us a fair chance,” he said. “We offered to work with them to answer their questions and to alleviate any issues and they didn’t want to talk to us.”

Eliot said information was provided over the summer on how to present a plan for the charter school.

Specifics about each grade level are required in the application, Eliot said. The Orange County Bilingual Academy had details for kindergarten to first grade, but left out grades two to five, the district report states.

Most of the parents supporting the charter school live between El Toro and Tustin, Brownson said. Organizers chose Tustin because it is between Irvine and Santa Ana, with high concentrations of Chinese and Spanish speaking parents.

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